Founded in 1999, the Department of Cardiology was recognized as the first “Shenzhen Municipal Key Medical Specialty” in the field of Cardiology in 2005, and as one of the “Guangdong Provincial Clinical Key Specialties” in 2022. Ranked 50th in China in the Global and China Hospital Cardiovascular Science and Technology Influence Report in 2023, 7th in Guangdong Province, 1st in Shenzhen in the 2023 Science and Technology Evaluation Metrics (STEM) report, the department houses Shenzhen’s first and Guangdong’s second nationally certified Chest Pain Center, the Guangdong Provincial Auxiliary Circulation Innovation Engineering Technology Research Center, a nationally certified Cardiac Rehabilitation Center, and the city's only nationally approved Pan-vascular Disease Management Center. It also includes centers for hypertension and vascular disease diagnosis and treatment.

Department Leadership
Professor Wu Guifu, discipline leader and head of the department, is a Guangdong Province Leading Medical Talent and Fellow of the American College of Cardiology. He serves as Vice President of the International Society of Enhanced External Counterpulsation, Chair of the Chinese Society of Biomedical Engineering’s Enhanced External Counterpulsation Division, Deputy Director of the National Health Commission’s Key Laboratory for Auxiliary Circulation, and Director of the Guangdong Provincial Auxiliary Circulation Innovation Engineering Technology Research Center. Additionally, he is the Chief Scientist of a key R&D program under the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Professor Huang Hui, vice president of the hospital and head of the Hypertension Division, is renowned for his expertise in vascular calcification, pregnancy-related hypertension, obesity-induced hypertension, and cardiorenal syndrome. He has led multiple National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) projects, including international cooperation and major research plans, and key projects under the Ministry of Science and Technology. Over the past five years, he has published extensively as the corresponding author in high-impact journals such as Circulation, JCI (2021, 2022), Hypertension (2018, 2021, 2022), Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, Cell Death and Differentiation, Theranostics, and Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology (ATVB). His accolades include the Fok Ying Tung Young Faculty Award from the Ministry of Education, the Pearl River Technology Star, and recognition as a Shenzhen High-Level Talent.

Research and Achievements
Over the past five years, the department has secured over 20 national and provincial research grants, including those from the National Key Research and Development Program and NSFC key and general projects. More than 150 high-impact SCI papers have been published in leading cardiovascular journals. The department is a pivotal hub for healthcare, teaching, and research at Sun Yat-sen University's Shenzhen campus.

Subspecialties and Capacity
The department consists of six subspecialties/divisions: Interventional Cardiology, Hypertension, Arrhythmia, Vascular and Structural Heart Disease, Heart Failure, and Cardiovascular Rehabilitation. It has 120 beds and a team of over 100 medical, nursing, and research professionals, equipped with state-of-the-art diagnostic and therapeutic tools.

After more than two decades of development, the department has established a comprehensive network for cardiovascular disease prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation, including managing hypertension, hyperlipidemia, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathies, valvular heart disease, arrhythmias, pulmonary hypertension, heart failure, and congenital heart diseases. Featured services include efficient acute myocardial infarction care in the Chest Pain Center, treatment and prevention of complex hypertension, precision interventional therapy for coronary artery disease, structural heart and great vessel interventions, pulmonary vascular disease management, and rapid rehabilitation through enhanced external counterpulsation. Additionally, the department excels in telemonitoring and screening for high-risk sudden cardiac death cases, establishing itself as a flagship provider of specialized and innovative cardiovascular care.